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Coven of Belore
Brief History The coven of belore began in -2,700 K.C, almost four thousand years after the founding of Quel’thalas. A coterie of magisters residing in the southern reaches of the kingdom sought to build a lodge to educate those who lived outside of the city, and the isle of quel’danas. Lady Alethvia Swiftflame, funded the creation of the lodge. The sanctum was built high within the reaches of the Amani mountain range, where it was said that the spires were closest to the sun’s rays themselves. Lady Swiftflame once an ordained priest on the isle of quel’danas, and a retired magister that served during the troll wars, built the lodge in effort to foster a new generation of magepriests to bolster the defenses of the southern province. She based her teachings off several ancient texts from 6,700 K.C, when reverence of the sun begun as the high elves had no desire to bear any similarity to their kal’dorei cousins. The texts were later formed into a tome known as “The Compendium of Belore” which detailed several high elven accounts with a deity that appeared to them, as they revered the sun. Lady Swiftlame began the first chapter of the coven with only seven initiates. Her method of teaching was thought to be controversial as she taught the light as something more than just a body of magic. She spoke of the sheer benevolence she felt when wielding it to heal, as well as a sensation that she could only describe as “Pure Justice” when she used it to smite targets. She noted, no other school could evoke emotion when wielded. Alethvia a nationalist of Quel’thalas, was fervent when speaking of belore and its difference from what the humans worshipped. She disregarded the humans as incapable of bonding with belore, as she believed belore blessed them because of their high blood. The Coven of Belore had several rituals that further differentiated it from the worship of the human’s holy light. Most are extravagant in practice, but they are based to honor the exile of the highborne, to the founding of quel’thalas. After the third war and the fall of Quel’thalas, much of the land was overrun with undead. With the kingdom in ruins, and the bulk of the coven slain, and faith in the light lost, the coven dissipated and was thought lost to history. Only the lodge standing untouched in the highest reaches of the Amani range. Ranks and Structure The coven is ruled round table style, where everyone has an equal voice. There is one High Priest per chapter, this role is reserved for the magepriest instructing the members of the coven. It holds no power other than initiating ceremonies. Malanore (Strangers) to the coven are allowed to join on a majority vote basis. Highpriests are selected through a conclave of the magepriest. Each sin'belore will cast a vote for whom they want to become highpriest of the coven. This tradition is held whenever a Highpriest retires or dies. Rites and Traditions • Rite of the Cleansing Flame: Upon initiation into the coven, initiates are called Malanore (outsider). During the initiation ceremony, the malanore must ask for guidance on their spiritual journey within the lodge, the initiates along with a high priest, are sequestered to a pavilion outside the entrance of the lodge. The priest will ignite a brazier with a holy flame, bless the flame by the sun’s graces, and each initiate will be asked to touch the flame with their hand. Some would think it is a test of wills, but it is to symbolize the danger of how easily this magic can burn and hurt the user or others around them. * After an initiate touches the flame, the high priest will mend the wound with a healing word. The sun’s blessing placed upon the neophyte. The temporary burn will serve as a reminder to be cautious with the magic, as they study the art of the magepriest within the coven. And the outsiders are now referred to as Sin’belore. • Eye of the Sun: Upon creation of the Lodge of Belore, Lady Swiftflame erected a statue of an elven woman, and placed a stone that held several runic inscriptions that could not be translated. She noted she bought it from fishermen who found it glowing off the shores of Quel’thalas. Alethvia describes the stone as dark gray in color, with specs of gold veined through the orb. Not much is known what the device exactly was, but it is said to hold the blessing of the sun itself. The orb responds to touch, glowing whenever it is near a beholder. The beholder is said to be skilled in divination, and the relic only empowers their ability further. The beholder or ‘sunsage’, is said to offer guidance to the coven through scrying, and other divinations. • The Lightspawn Forge: A new tradition as Lady Meridia Eruilvyn witnessed the creation of these new servants of the light in netherlight temple during the war effort against the burning legion. Within an enclave of the lodge of belore, lies a forge for these creatures. The forge is constructed of a mithril frame, alloys from ghost iron ore reinforcing the construction. It has a smooth and lustrous white marble surface, with a large rune of the sun chiseled into the center. Sunlight cascades through the cathedral glass in the enclave, onto the forge activating the runes. All is required to create a lightspawn is a vial of sunwell water, and a prayer. Attunement to Belore Chakra Alignment and Healing Aligning your chakras is an ancient thalassian tradition used by priests to allow them to easily grasp the light. Let’s start with a brief definition. What is a chakra? A chakra (pronounced “cha”-“kra” with a resounding “ch”) is a center of energy. Originating from thalassian, it literally means “wheel” by association with its function as a vortex of spinning energy interacting with various physiological and magical systems in the body. Chakras are energy centers within the elven body that help to regulate all its processes, from organ function to to the immune system and emotions. We can commonly count 7 chakras positioned throughout your body, from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. Each chakra has its own vibrational frequency, that is depicted through a specific chakra color, and governs specific functions that help your ability to wield the light.Think of this exercise like an introduction; you’re tuning in for, perhaps, the very first time. * First, start by making sure you’re in a quiet space. If you can’t be right now, just return to this section of the article later. But if you can, sit quietly for a moment and take a few deep breaths. Let tension and stress slide away for just a moment. Just be in the moment, with your body.Now, bring your attention to the base of your spine, your tailbone, and imagine a bright spinning red light. Feel it pulsing and rotating with your breath. Sit with that for a moment. * Move your attention up your spine to the area a couple of inches below your belly button. Feel the warmth of a bright, orange spinning light. Again, notice how it moves with your breath. * Guide your attention further up to a couple inches above your belly button. You’re probably familiar with this area, because when you feel strong emotions like love or fear, you likely feel it here. Notice how you can sense the intense yellow light rotating in that spot. * Bring your attention further up to the center of your chest where your heart is. This area harnesses a bright green light. When you’re touched or moved, you might instinctively place your hand over this spot. Connect with that area now. * Then, bring your attention to your throat, the dip in between your collar bones. Imagine a bright blue light spinning in that area.You may feel the urge to swallow or clear your throat as you think of it. * Next, move your attention up to the space on your forehead between your eyebrows, your third eye. This area holds a deep indigo rotating light. Imagine yourself becoming wiser as it spins and becomes brighter. * Finally, shift your attention to the very top of your head. Imagine a vibrant, spinning violet light that shines right out of the top of your body. This light connects you to the universe. Feel the peace that comes with noticing this light. You are now spiritually attuned, and the light of the sun will respond to your calling. Aligning your chakras can improve with practice, with some priests able to attune themselves almost instantly. When attuning think of your chakras as the colors through a prism. Your body is the prism and your ability to wield the bright white light of belore, each of your chakras must be cleansed and aligned, to wield the light at its greatest potency. Mantras & Holy Words Mantras are one of the best tools in a magepriest's arsenal of healing techniques. Repeating a word or phrase that has meaning to you, will solidify your connection to the light as you call upon it. Common mantras are "Belore" (the sun), and "Alah" (Light). Any word can become a holy word as long as it holds meaning to you. Another common phrase for wielding the light to smite targets is, "Thori'alah" (Fury of the Light). ((WIP, more to come.))